To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

a g e
''"'"'"'"'"''"'''"-"..iiiiMilSuii^
I BETHPAGE WV 11714-3202
^ • • P
YOUR OFFICIAL HOMETOWN- NEWSPAPER
VOL. 34 NO. 40 OCTOBER 13-19, 2000 40 CENTS
Hometown Heroes
Receive Community Awards
New York State Assemblyman Marc Herbst, right, congratulates
Rosalie Branca of Plainview. Mrs. Branca was presented with the
Plainview Republican Club's "Hail to the Hometown Heroes"
Community Award at the club's last meeting.
New York State Assemblyman Marc Herbst, right, congratulates
Edwin Stritzl of Plainview. Mr. Stritzl was presented with the Plainview
Republican Club's "Hail to the Hometown Heroes'' Community Award
at the club's last meeting.
A EULOGY TO MY BRIDE
Patricia Frances Warnken (nee
McMullan), born in Enniskilien,
Northern Ireland, March 18, 1920,
died in Bethpage October 4,
2000. Survived by her husband,
Ernest, sons Robert and Michael,
and five grandchildren.
I still think of her as "my bride."
She was the finest person, the
most beautiful woman I have ever
known. I know, husbands are sup­posed
to say that. In this case,
truer words were never spoken.
The day after she went away, a
friend said: "You notice I always
called her 'Patricia.' Not 'Pat' nor
any other nickname. They don't sound right for her, because she was
such a real lady\" Another friend told me "You know, your wife is one
of the most beautiful women I ever saw!" Yet another described her
as: "Such a giving person!" If you knew Patricia at all, you know
these descriptions are all accurate, yet somehow incomplete.
She wasn't perfect. No one is. But it was her deep-seated good­ness
that made her who and what she was. Her ability to forgive, her
love of the underdog (even in sports, going all the way back to the
Brooklyn Dodgers!), her willingness to sublimate her wishes to those
of others - her love for her fellow man and for all living creatures -
these attributes are part of her Christian faith, her very way of life.
Yet Pat was who she was so naturally, so quietly, so uncritically,
so lovingly. She didn't wear her faith on her sleeve. She didn't have
to pull it out of the woodwork only when she needed it. She didn't
really talk very much about it. It was just there.
I met Pat right after World War II. As a young ex-soldier just
back from overseas, I was naturally attracted by her beauty, and then
by her "old-fashioned" way of looking at life. I fell for this beautiful
woman like a ton of bricks. We started to date.
The company we both worked for frowned on dating between
employees, so we had to see each other "on the sly." While we were
dating she would occasionally slip and call me "Mr. Warnken," as she
did in the office all day long. Habit is hard to break. (When I tell this
story, I usually add that we were married a year before she called me
"Ernie!" Not true, but the first part of the story is!)
We knew each other less than a year before we married. The
reason we waited so long was her engagement to a young man still
overseas. She had to wait to see him personally, but in the end she
did what she had to do. Being the person she was, it was not easy.
As my wife of almost 54 years, she was my partner, my lover, my
friend, my editor, my critic, the mother of our children. I have grown
to love her more each day, as I got to know her better each day.
Most of you probably would describe her as a "nice person," even
a "lovely person." She was surely that. But unless you lived with her,
you couldn't know the extent of her love, her unselfishness, her
sacrifice during her lifetime.
Throughout the loss of our first child - then the loss of our eldest
son, Tom, at the age of 35 - throughout caring for two sets of
parents during years of illness and helping to care for two sets of
children when her sister died at the age of 44 - through a tough
financial setback - plus the usual scrapes, breaks and heartache of
(Continued on Page 6)

a g e
''"'"'"'"'"''"'''"-"..iiiiMilSuii^
I BETHPAGE WV 11714-3202
^ • • P
YOUR OFFICIAL HOMETOWN- NEWSPAPER
VOL. 34 NO. 40 OCTOBER 13-19, 2000 40 CENTS
Hometown Heroes
Receive Community Awards
New York State Assemblyman Marc Herbst, right, congratulates
Rosalie Branca of Plainview. Mrs. Branca was presented with the
Plainview Republican Club's "Hail to the Hometown Heroes"
Community Award at the club's last meeting.
New York State Assemblyman Marc Herbst, right, congratulates
Edwin Stritzl of Plainview. Mr. Stritzl was presented with the Plainview
Republican Club's "Hail to the Hometown Heroes'' Community Award
at the club's last meeting.
A EULOGY TO MY BRIDE
Patricia Frances Warnken (nee
McMullan), born in Enniskilien,
Northern Ireland, March 18, 1920,
died in Bethpage October 4,
2000. Survived by her husband,
Ernest, sons Robert and Michael,
and five grandchildren.
I still think of her as "my bride."
She was the finest person, the
most beautiful woman I have ever
known. I know, husbands are sup­posed
to say that. In this case,
truer words were never spoken.
The day after she went away, a
friend said: "You notice I always
called her 'Patricia.' Not 'Pat' nor
any other nickname. They don't sound right for her, because she was
such a real lady\" Another friend told me "You know, your wife is one
of the most beautiful women I ever saw!" Yet another described her
as: "Such a giving person!" If you knew Patricia at all, you know
these descriptions are all accurate, yet somehow incomplete.
She wasn't perfect. No one is. But it was her deep-seated good­ness
that made her who and what she was. Her ability to forgive, her
love of the underdog (even in sports, going all the way back to the
Brooklyn Dodgers!), her willingness to sublimate her wishes to those
of others - her love for her fellow man and for all living creatures -
these attributes are part of her Christian faith, her very way of life.
Yet Pat was who she was so naturally, so quietly, so uncritically,
so lovingly. She didn't wear her faith on her sleeve. She didn't have
to pull it out of the woodwork only when she needed it. She didn't
really talk very much about it. It was just there.
I met Pat right after World War II. As a young ex-soldier just
back from overseas, I was naturally attracted by her beauty, and then
by her "old-fashioned" way of looking at life. I fell for this beautiful
woman like a ton of bricks. We started to date.
The company we both worked for frowned on dating between
employees, so we had to see each other "on the sly." While we were
dating she would occasionally slip and call me "Mr. Warnken," as she
did in the office all day long. Habit is hard to break. (When I tell this
story, I usually add that we were married a year before she called me
"Ernie!" Not true, but the first part of the story is!)
We knew each other less than a year before we married. The
reason we waited so long was her engagement to a young man still
overseas. She had to wait to see him personally, but in the end she
did what she had to do. Being the person she was, it was not easy.
As my wife of almost 54 years, she was my partner, my lover, my
friend, my editor, my critic, the mother of our children. I have grown
to love her more each day, as I got to know her better each day.
Most of you probably would describe her as a "nice person," even
a "lovely person." She was surely that. But unless you lived with her,
you couldn't know the extent of her love, her unselfishness, her
sacrifice during her lifetime.
Throughout the loss of our first child - then the loss of our eldest
son, Tom, at the age of 35 - throughout caring for two sets of
parents during years of illness and helping to care for two sets of
children when her sister died at the age of 44 - through a tough
financial setback - plus the usual scrapes, breaks and heartache of
(Continued on Page 6)